Valved Container Assembly Pressure Relief Seal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing valved container assemblies for dispensing fluids, such as nasal dispensers, face challenges in ensuring reliable and controlled fluid delivery due to limitations in sealing mechanisms and pressure management, which can lead to inconsistent dosing and potential leakage.
Innovation Solution
A valved container assembly featuring a permanent seal around the valve's perimeter, a movable resilient seal that switches between sealing and open configurations based on pressure thresholds, and a plunger element to increase fluid pressure, allowing controlled fluid expulsion through a channel with multiple openings, ensuring reliable sealing and efficient dispensing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a resilient seal is used to seal the valve to the container, then the sealing mechanism is simple and flexible, but the seal may deform under pressure causing leakage or inconsistent dosing
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing mechanism is divided into two distinct components: a permanent seal that provides the primary sealing function and a resilient seal that provides a secondary safety seal. This segmentation allows each seal to have specialized functions - the permanent seal maintains structural integrity under pressure while the resilient seal provides flexible backup sealing, thereby improving overall sealing reliability without excessive complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The permanent seal is positioned beforehand to prevent seal deformation before pressure is applied. By having the permanent seal in place prior to pressurization, it prevents the resilient seal from deforming under pressure, thus maintaining sealing reliability and preventing leakage.
2Ease of operation
If pressure in the container interior is increased by displacing the closure member into the container, then the sealing portion can be separate and displaceable, but the valve may move axially causing inconsistent dosing
Solution Approach 1:
The closure system is segmented into a movable closure member for pressure generation and a fixed valve assembly for precise dosing. The valve is anchored to the container wall with inhibition features that prevent axial movement, while the closure member remains free to move for pressure generation. This segmentation allows independent optimization of both pressure generation ease and dosing precision.
Solution Approach 2:
Axial movement inhibition features are built into the valve assembly beforehand to prevent unwanted valve displacement. These features proactively counteract any axial forces that might cause the valve to move, ensuring dosing consistency is maintained even as the closure member moves to generate pressure.
3Reliability
If a permanent seal surrounds the entire perimeter of the valve, then fluid-tight sealing is ensured, but the channel bypassing the seal adds complexity to the fluid pathway
Solution Approach 1:
The resilient seal acts as an intermediary element that manages the complexity of the channel structure. It selectively opens or closes the channel bypassing the permanent seal based on pressure conditions, thereby controlling fluid flow through the complex pathway only when necessary. This intermediary function allows the permanent seal to maintain fluid-tight sealing while the channel complexity is managed on-demand rather than being constantly active.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a reliable and controlled dispensing mechanism that prevents leakage and ensures consistent dosing by maintaining a fluid-tight seal until the pressure threshold is met, allowing precise expulsion of the fluid through a labyrinthine pathway, enhancing the reliability and efficiency of fluid delivery.
Implementation Method 1
a resilient seal; wherein the resilient seal is moveable between a sealing configuration and an open configuration
Implementation Method 2
the plunger element being axially moveable in the container and defining a first volume in the container between the plunger element and the valve, where the plunger element is configured to increase the pressure of the fluid in the first volume upon forward axial movement relative to the valve
Data Source
AI summary
A valved container assembly has a container for containing a fluid, extending in an axial direction, and having an open front end and a valve disposed in the container. A plunger element is disposed axially rearward of the valve and is axially moveable in the container. The plunger element is configured to increase the pressure of a fluid in a first volume of the container upon axial movement of the plunger element relative to the valve. The valve includes a channel bypassing a seal, the channel having a first opening in fluid communication with the atmosphere outside of the valved container assembly and a second opening selectively sealed from the first volume by a resilient seal. The resilient seal is moveable from a sealing configuration to an open configuration upon the pressure of the fluid in the first volume exceeding a first pressure threshold.